making up syllables: the red centre, part 2 of 2

the startling conclusion!

5 am wake up call, as promised. continental breakfast followed by more hours in the van. fortunately a london comedian named tom came to the rescue and instead of top 40: the musical we had the keystone bar playlist (franz ferdinand, white stripes, etc) to rock us into the rock territory.

we did eventually get our first glimpse of uluru but we weren't actually headed that way yet. first stop was a walk through the olgas, or kata tjuta as it was originally named. kata tjuta means 'the heads' and is so named for the 36 dome shaped rock formations that make up the site. while its tempting to think of these as smaller versions of uluru/ayers rock they are actually slightly geologically different.

a quick rundown on the formation of kata tjuta/uluru as explained to us by our guides (and then probably reassembled incorrectly by myself from memory):
millions of years ago australia used to be mountainous, very mountainous even. mountains taller than everest. eventually erosion from these mountains created large deposits of boulders and sediment that were compacted over the years, laid over by inland seas, and buried deep underground. then, another shift in the tectonic plates caused a second eruption of landmass. the deposit of boulders were thrusted through the crust and became kata tjuta, the sediment forming uluru. and if you look closely at the two you can notice the rock face is definitely different. kata tjuta looks almost like a public works project - bits of rock and soil cemented together to form a man made sculpture of earth. uluru on the other hand just looks like a giant, single rock. and it is. and much like an iceberg we're only treated with a small portion of it. a very, very small portion of it. in fact, something like 300 meters are above ground while an astonishing 6km are buried underneath. that is an enormous rock. shit.

so our first stop was a nice 3 hour walk through kata tjuta. it wasn't particularly strenuous but there was a steep climb involved and the heat was definitely ramping up from the day before. walking through the domes was unlike anything i've ever done. at this point things stop relating to anything back home and take on an entirely different, alien feel. the domes are massive. their shapes organic yet strange. and then there's the massive valley between them. i was reminded of the savage lands in x-men (some of us draw allusion to classic literature, i find my reference points in classic 90's cartoons) and was half expecting to find dinosaurs stomping around the grassy lands down between the domes. eventually you get to the steep climb up and when you turn around at the top you are rewarded with a magnificent overall view of everything framed by two of the giant rock faces. it helps solidify that feeling of crawling out of a forgotten land.

everyone was definitely well knackered by the time we finished the hike but the rest of the day was fairly easy-going: a stop at an aboriginal cultural center to learn about the area and it's peoples customs, quick pit-stop at our campsite to take a shower, and then we finally got up close and personal with the big boy itself, uluru. they were saving the base walk for the final day but we did take a short walk up to it just so we could say hi and learn a bit about it. following that we drove out for a better vantage point and the tour guides made us some dinner while we watched sunset fall on the rock. this is where all those amazing blood red images come from as the sun really makes those red earth colors come alive. we luckily had amazing weather and the sunset was brochure quality beautiful. i'm no great photographer but its easy to make it look picturesque under those conditions.

after the long day we had our final night camping, still in the swags and sleeping bags, but on slightly nicer grounds. there were proper toilets and some lights so you could see what was crawling on you if anything in the middle of the night.

the final morning and the final 5 am wake up call. this time it was all the more necessary because we were heading back out to our vantage point to see the sun rise up behind uluru. without a tripod this was pretty hard to capture but i did my best to brace myself and got some pretty good representational shots. did i mention how beautiful the sunsets/sunrises in australia are? that hole in the ozone layer must be good for something, and if its these colorful rises and falls then...well its still awful but i suppose its the thinnest of silver linings. our last rock experience was a walk around the entire base of uluru. this was also the time when you could climb the rock should you choose but nobody from either groups did so. our guides didn't forbid us from doing so but did heavily dissuade us for many good reasons. for one its quite dangerous: it's steep, it's windy, it's hot. there have been quite a few deaths from uluru climbs and as more and more people climb it the slicker and more dangerous it will become. two, it's environmentally irresponsible. foot traffic is actually scarring the surface of the rock and people are poisoning the water around it with trash, driving out the natural wildlife from the area. and finally, its culturally insensitive to the native people who outright ask you not to climb it. it's a sacred site after all, like climbing on top of a buddhist statue or mecca or a church altar. still, we saw people doing it and looking like idiots as they struggled to keep from falling. it's like my man blade says: "some motherfuckers are always trying to ice skate uphill." truth.

the walk around the base was interesting as it laid out quite clearly all the pocks and deformities of the rock that you don't quite get from just looking at it from afar. most, if not all, of the major blemishes on the surface hold significance to the aboriginal people and relate to the stories of their creation. uluru itself is a major battleground between the woma python and poisonous snake and you can see signs of their epic battle all over the rock face. many of the caves are used for sacred rites, or at least were used, back before it became a tourist attraction. still, as interesting as it was, i was a bit camera'd out at this point and chose only to take a few photos. there is very little, after all, to differentiate one face of the rock from another, unless you're taking it all in together and i wasn't about to record the entire thing. in fact, in several areas you are forbidden to take photos as they are too culturally significant and some members of the aboriginal community are not allowed to view them, even on accident - say, on the internet on some dude's blog.

after the walk we piled in the van, said our goodbyes to uluru, and headed back to alice springs. at one pit stop people were invited to ride racing camels but i chose to protect my groin rather than smash it against a dromedary hump. we arrived at our hostel mid-evening, rested up and then hit the one main bar in alice springs for celebratory drinks. i stayed out until about midnight with an english fellow from york but that was all we could manage. the following day was a day of rest. i read. i did little else. it was a-ok. a flight was had. i made it back in one piece. small but important things.

overall: not the most relaxing of trips, true. but, overall: exactly what i needed. i was feeling all cooped up in melbourne. things had gotten stale. dissatisfaction was at a high. it's all been well documented. having returned, having done things, new experiences experienced, one with nature, star contemplation, stoic van gazing - it's like a freshly laundered pair of underwear. not new yet familiar and comfortable and ready for anything. maybe its something spiritual gleaned from the rock: energy siphoned from deep down at the base of the column (who knows whats down there?! molten hot magma probably, but also maybe aliens?!). anyway, the return of the trip also marks the 3 weeks left period at work. that means i have 3 more weeks allowed to work at my current job on my visa. after that i have to find something else. so this is a natural turning point. i am being pushed over the precipice, which is what people usually need anyway. it's all very exciting and i have no idea what i'm doing. but for now...photos: